The present invention relates generally to robotic systems, and more particularly, to a robot teach pendant having a processor in communication with a robot controller.
Programmable controllers operate elaborate industrial equipment, such as robots, in accordance with a plurality of stored control programs. When executed, each program causes the programmable controller or robot controller to examine the state of the controlled machinery by evaluating signals from one or more sensing devices (e.g., position encoders, temperature sensors, or pressure sensors) and to operate the machinery (e.g., by controlling the output voltage for servo motors, or energizing/de-energizing discrete components) based on a procedural framework, the sensor signals and, if necessary, more complex processing.
The programmable controller is generally described as a computer-based control unit that is represented by an aggregate of conventional elements, including a central processing unit, a crystal controlled clock, random access memory, communication channels, digital and analog input/output ports and D/A and A/D converter channels. The control unit also supports a user interface, which may include a teach pendant and/or display device, to facilitate operator input of processing programs, commanded positions, and system parameters.
A wide variety of data is displayed on the teach pendent to provide necessary and important information for the operator. A problem encountered with communicating a wide variety of data objects or data items to a teach pendent is that the pendent must contain programs to properly display all the different forms of data appropriate to the situation in which they must be displayed. This requires extensive programming and program storage for the teach pendent which must be as light and inexpensive as possible. Similarly, remote computers must have programming to support the display of data from the robot controller. This can mean that special interface programs must be added to each computer that is to receive and display data from the robot controller.
One known method and system to overcome this problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,442 to Crater et al, entitled xe2x80x9cDistributed Interface Architecture For Programmable Industrial Control Systems.xe2x80x9d Crater et al. shifts the burden of providing user interfaces for changing forms of data from the remote computer to the controllers. This is accomplished by combining data with functionality for displaying that data at the individual controllers. Each of the controllers has a computer memory for storing the relevant data and formatting instructions, i.e., web pages, associated with the data that allow a properly equipped remote computer to display the data in a predetermined format. Thus, each type of data has a web page associated with it stored in the controller""s memory. However, this adds complexity and increased memory capacity to the programmable controller.
The information available on the controller is expanding and the systems are becoming more complex. A user typically wants to get information from a second controller but cannot access the information without physically moving to the second controller. As the information becomes more complex, typical black and white screens are of little use to the operator to distinguish critical problems from warnings. Drawings and reference material to aid in solving a problem are in a graphical format and cannot be displayed on the current teach pendants.
The present invention is aimed at one or more of the problems identified above.
In one aspect of the present invention, a teach pendant coupled to a robot controller having a robot, is provided. The teach pendant includes a processor capable of operating the teach pendant and the I/O devices on the teach pendant. The teach pendant further includes a web browser adapted to accept input data in a standard format and display the input data on the display.
In another aspect of the present invention, a robotic system for a robot is provided. The system includes a robot controller coupled to the robot and a teach pendant coupled to the robot controller. The teach pendant is adapted to control the robot and includes a processor capable of operating the teach pendant and the I/O devices on the teach pendant. The teach pendant also includes a web browser adapted to accept input data in a standard format and display the input data on the display.